Alcohol sales not impacted by 9-11 attacks

Iowans apparently neither swore off alcohol, or sought its comfort following the terrorist attacks of September 11th.Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division administrator Lynn Walding says some states have seen big drops in the consumption of hard liquor after the 9-11 attacks, but Iowa’s seen just a slight increase.Walding says sales increased less than one percent compared with the same period after September 11th of last year. Walding says Iowa’s consumption of alcohol isn’t tied as closely to tourism and travel as many other states, so that’s probably why we’ve not seen much of an impact on sales. He says Iowans have been buying more alcohol the last few years.Liquor sales declined in the mid ’80s, hitting a low in 1996. There’s been a constant rise since that time. Walding says the state’s take on liquor sales has continued to increase.He says the state marks up the alcohol it sells to retailers by 50-percent, leading to a record 112-million dollars in sales last year. Walding says 61-million dollars of that profit went into the state’s general fund last year.